The Young Riders: Part One Glaria
by Cyrro
Summary: Glaria is a ten-year-old Kull Madge in training. But when she gets lost is Ilirea, she ends up telling stories to an unborn child. Based after The Inheritence Cycle. Hes spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

Ever since she was born Glaria had been different. The clan's seer and madge, Taqula, had had said at Glaria's birth that she would be counted among the greatest Urgralgra who ever existed. By the time she was four years old, she had displayed a talent for magic. Less than a year had passed before she was apprenticed to Taqula.

When she was nine years old, the males from her village went to fight with the Varden in the war against Galbatorix. Because Taqula was a madge, he went with them. Glaria stayed with the village to fill in for her master. She was, by this time, almost as skilled as Taqula.

At the end of the war, Glaria's father moved his family to Ilirea.

The city was crawling with humans. Glaria breathed in, tightening her grip on her tall madge staff. As a child she had been told horror stories of humans and elves – especially dragon riders – who had slaughtered entire Urgralgra villages.

Beside her, Glaria's mother Vekaq held tightly to five-year-old Kana's hand. Kana was trying not to cry.

Glaria smiled reasurringly at eight year old Qulavan as he tightened his grip on her hand. "We'll be fine," she whispered to him. "Daddy wouldn't bring us here if it wasn't safe enough."

"I'm not scared," he whispered back.

"Yes you are," Glaria stated firmly.

"Being scared isn't a crime. In fact, you can only be truly brave by over-coming fear."

"Daddy! Daddy!" Kana's shrieks grated on Glaria's nerves. She she decided then and there that she didn't want children. Glaria looked in the direction her little sister was pointing and started in surprise. Yes, it was her father coming towards them, but he was wearing a strange uniform that could only have been designed by humans. It made him look mean, strong and dangerous. Well, more dangerous than usual, all eight feet of him. Glaria's father, Gavokk, was Kull, so when people told Glaria she was getting tall like her father, that told her she was going to be Kull too.

Gavokk embraced his mate remarking, "You're pregnant."

She grinned and kissed him.

Glaria saw some humans staring. "Staring's rude!" she snapped in the common tongue. The humans started in surprise and made themselves scarce. Glaria smiled.

She didn't have time to do anything else because Gavokk scooped up both her and Qlavan and embraced them. "you two are growing fast," he commented. "and I missed too much of it."

"Not all that much," said Glaria comfortingly. "but we missed you a lot."

Gavokk let his older cuds go and scooped up Kana. She squealed as he placed her on his shoulders. Giggling, Kana held tightly to her father's horns.


	2. Chapter 2

Gavokk led his family through the strange-looking no-horns'-buildings to a larger structure. Humans, dwarves and urgralgra clad in the same style clothing as Gavokk lounged in a corridor located on the eastern side of the building. A few of them called greetings to Gavokk as he led his family along the corridor.

Glaria was surprised when a man with rust-coloured hair and watery green eyes went up to them and clasped wrists with her father. "This is your family, then?" the man asked.

"Yes," affirmed Gavokk. "My mate Vekaq, my son Qlavan and my daughters Glaria and Kana." In the Urgal tongue, he said, "this is Nathan. He's a nice human."

Nathan looked steadily at Glaria and said, "I have a daughter your age."

Realizing Nathan already knew a bit about her family, Glaria said, "There are 365 days each year and billions of people live in the world. You can guarantee more than one person is born each day."

Nathan stared at her, clearly not expecting her too be able to speak the common tongue fluently.

One of the other humans started laughing. "She just gave you the chop!"

Glaria knew that humans used strange terms, but that one made no sense. Gravely, she told the man, "If I'd given him the chop, he'd be in two separate parts."

The males within earshot started laughing. Some, who hadn't understood her due to language barriers, only started laughing after someone had explained what had happened in their native tongue.

Gavokk grinned and herded his family through a nearby door. They found themselves in a small set of rooms. "I managed to get quarters with enough room for all of us, but I didn't count on you being pregnant," Gavokk told his mate quietly.

xxx

Glaria spent the next few weeks exploring her new home. She quickly learned that her father and the other uniformed males were the Nighthawks; the magician-warriors assigned to protect Nasuada daughter of Ajihod, who had been the leader of the Varden, but had taken over the throne of Alagaesia from Galbatorix.

Glaria became friendly with several members of the Nighthawks – Nathan encluded. She soon learned that several of the Nighthawks didn't live in the barraks with the others. Nathan was one of these. They had housing elsewhere, but she didn't find out where.

Glaria also managed to make enemies with one of the Urgralgra families who lived in the barraks. She did this by calling on of the male cubs in the family a spineless idiot with the mental capacity of a dead fish.

Eventually, Glaria knew, she would have to return to the hidden village in the Spine that she came from to continue her studies as a Madge. But until then she was happy to explore Ilirea.


	3. Chapter 3

Glaria was lost. She got lost a lot in Ilirea, but she usually found someone to get directions from.

On this particular day, the only person who didn't avoid her was an elf with a satchel. She decided to follow him. The elf glanced back at her a few times, but otherwise ignored her. After a while they arrived at a room guarded by a delegation of Nighthawks. The Nighthawks, all of whom she recognised, shot her quizzical glances as she followed the elf into the room.

The queen of Alagaesia looked up from her needle-work as the elf entered the room. Glaria had seen Nasuada a few times, but from a distance. Glaria thought she looked sad.

"Laufin, isn't it?" said the queen, not noticing Glaria because she stood in the door way behind the elf.

"Yes, your highness," said the elf.

"Did both eggs hatch?"

"No. The grey hatched for a dwarf boy, but the purple is refusing to hatch," replied Laufin.

Glaria frowned. She had, of course, heard that dwarves and Urgralgra were now a part of the Riders' pact. If an egg had hatched for a dwarf but not an Urgralgra it could appear to some that the gods were favouring the dwarves.

"Are you sure you tested _all_ the Dwarves and Urgals?" Nasuada was asking.

"We tested every dwarf in the Boer Mountains and every urgal in every Urgal village, but it won't hatch!" Laufin sounded stressed.

Glara had a sudden thought. She stepped forward and said, "Have you tested the Nighthawks and their families?"

Nasuada and Laufin both turned their attention to the little Kull Madge.

"I didn't think of that," admitted Laufin in a small voice.

"It's your _job_ to think of that!" snapped Nasuada. "and since the little girl pointed it out, you might as well start by testing her!"

Laufin scowled.

"Come here, child," Nasuada gestured to Glaria.

Glaria strode over to her.

"What's your name?" asked Nasuada.

"Glaria," said Glaria. "and before you ask; that's my Daddy over there," she pointed over to where her father stood, guarding the door. He waved. "I'm a trainee Madge and I'm ten years old." She gripped her staff tightly with both hands.

Nasuada smiled. "You don't mind being tested, do you?"

"No," Glaria felt an excited thrill run through her.


	4. Chapter 4

Shut up alone with a deep purple and black dragon's egg, Glaira felt satisfied. She sat on the floor of the small room, her staff lying beside her, the egg in her lap. "I hope you'll hatch for one of my race," she told it in her native tongue. "I'll tell you why." She smiled and told this tale:

Long ago, hundreds of years ago, when elves lived in Luthὶvὶra, a group of Urgralra wandered in search of a home.

As they wandered through the woods by Lake Tudosten a group of girls aged between 10 and 14 wandered off on their own. Not long later, the girls happened upon a lone elf-cub wandering arund. When the elf-cub saw the Urgralgra girls, he sat down and began to cry. He appeared about two years old, a baby, really. One of the girls picked him up and cuddled him.

"I wonder where his parents are," said one girl.

"We should find them," said another.

"But they'll kill us," argued the eldest. "Our parents would kill this cub."

"We need to do something with him," said the one who had not yet spoken. "I can hear our fathers looking for us."

Sure enough, off in the forest, nearby, their fathers were calling their names.

"You could give him to me," said a new voice.

The girls turned to the speaker. There stood a tall elf woman with black hair and eyes the colour of jade. She was clad in a leather cat-suit the light pink-grey colour of the clouds at sunset, a short black cape and knee-high, high-heeled boots. A massive broadsword the colour of her cat-suit was strapped to her back.

"Who are you?" asked the girl holding the elf-cub.

"They call me the lady of Twilight. I am the half-elf daughter of Lord Twilight, who I believe is one of the gods your people worships."

The Urgralgra girls could hear their fathers, much closer now, telling them to come, for there were elves in the forest.

"You'd better give me that child before someone else finds you with him," said the Lady of Twilight.

So the girls handed her the elf-cub. The Lady of Twilight looked at them solemnly, "One day," she said, " this child will be Dragon Rider. But, he and you crossed paths so your people should know: one day, your descendants will be counted among the Dragon Riders of Alagaesia ." Then she left, taking the elf-cub with her.

"We never heard what became of that elf-cub," Glaria concluded her tale. "But I'd like to know. After all, I am a descendant of all the Urgralgra girls that were there." Glaria stoked the egg. "If you hatch for one of us, you will not only make history, but be the fulfilment of an ancient promise."

A human came in with a tray of food and instructed Glaria to tap on the wall when she'd finished eating. Once Glaria had, the human came back and took the empty tray away.

Glaria yawed and, with the egg tucked under her arm, climbed into the bed that stood in the corner of the room.


End file.
